


the heart never lies

by overfireandwater



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Short One Shot, Zutara, still salty that they did not end up together but oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25979209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overfireandwater/pseuds/overfireandwater
Summary: After the play, Katara and Zuko reflect on their feelings for each other.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 48





	the heart never lies

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This is just a little fluff piece of what I think could have happened during E 17 of S3.
> 
> Katara and Zuko have been a favorite couple of mine for a very long time. Like many of my OTP’s, they obviously didn’t end up together and because of that, I’ll be writing a lot more for them. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

“So you like Katara, huh?” Toph’s smirk is enough to get a rise out of the fire bender as he handed her the bowl of fire flakes he had bought for her after her relentless requests.

He can’t tell what irks him more; the nonchalance of such an accusation or the fact that she says it with such confidence.

If Toph could see his eyes that are nearly about to pop out of his head at his assumption, she’d probably burst out in a fit of obnoxious laughter.

“That’s ridiculous.” He crosses his arms and Toph can’t help but laugh at the false confidence in his voice. 

“Whatever you say.” She shrugs, an overly confident smirk still present on her face as she took in the aroma of the snack in her hands before grabbing a handful and stuffing it into her mouth.

Zuko knows that it’s better not to encourage Toph when she’s in one of those cocky know-it-all states of mind that she would get into when she knew she was right.

But the curiosity builds up in him quickly and the other audience members had begun to gather into the auditorium for the second act.   
There were no signs of their other friends from either direction.   
If he wanted to ask, then now was the only chance he’d have. 

“H-How did you come to that conclusion anyway?” He asks, his voice hardly with a fraction of the vigor that Toph was so used to hearing and she decides to ease up on the unnecessary teasing for the time being. 

“Your heartbeat was going a mile a minute during that scene. I could barely hear over it!” Her words are hardly coherent through the mouthfuls of food she had stuffed in her cheeks. 

She doesn’t have to elaborate as the over dramatized cave scene with himself and Katara had everyone confused.

“That doesn’t mean anything.” 

“Sure it does.” Toph takes another bite from her box of fire flakes, “You can trick the mind as much as you want, lover boy,” 

Her words are muffled by the spoonfuls of food that she scarfs down and lets out a guttural burp before she finally finishes her sentence. 

“but the heart never lies.” 

She had learned how to rely on her hearing for pretty much everything, including reading other people’s feelings and that included some that they might be clueless to. 

Zuko sits there deep in his thoughts as the girl happily finishes her food, unbeknownst to what effect her words had on him.

Sure, maybe he wasn’t completely disgusted to their romantic subplot in the horrendous play they had the misfortune of attending and he would be lying if he said that he didn’t find her attractive. 

But it couldn’t be because he had a crush on her. 

The idea was outrageous! 

She’s his teammate’s crush and the other’s sister! Ideally, those aren’t things one should look for in a significant other.  
But still, every time she so much as entered his line of vision, he felt the rage-induced flames that burned within him simmer to nothing but an ember.

He had kidnapped her and betrayed her and   
yet, she still found good in him when he was underserving of it.   
But that did not mean that he had feelings for her. 

Certainly not. 

He’s so busy dissecting every move he’s made since he’s joined their team that he doesn’t notice the others return until Sokka excitedly urges them to go back to their seats. 

_The heart never lies. What a load of shit._ He thinks to himself. 

He’s oblivious to the increase in the drumming of his heart that came immediately when he catches just the slightest glance of Katara as they walk back to their seats.

Her gaze, like everyone else, is focused on the play as they walk down the stairs and Zuko knows that he should probably look away but he just can’t. 

Toph rolls her eyes and digs her elbow into his rib cage. 

“You’re doing it again.” She says through gritted teeth and points to his chest.

Zuko tries to shake it off but the minute that Katara’s arm brushes against his as she takes her seat next to him, he’s pulled back into the tide of her blue eyes. 

_Shit._ He thinks to himself as he realizes that Toph might be right.

____________

On their way back, Katara could feel Aang’s stare bore into her back and it takes all of her willpower not to turn around and snap at him again. She doesn’t want hurt the poor kid and a wave of guilt washes over her when she catches sight of the downward curve of his lips, but she’s also not going to feel sorry for standing her ground after their conversation on the balcony. Or the fact that she lectured him after he kissed her ignoring the fact that she blatantly expressed how she felt about their situation. She does love him, but she questions if she could ever love him in the way he wants her too. Sure, there were times of uncertainty and confusion on both of their parts. But she knew she shouldn’t have to doubt that at all if she truly did want to be with him and his actions earlier that night had only distanced her from the idea further. Once they get back, everyone almost immediately retreats to their bedrooms, exhausted from what was supposed to be their one break before the biggest battle of their lives. Katara tosses and turns as she tries to get some sleep, the Ember Island heat dripping down the nape of her neck. After a few hours it’s clear to her that sleep isn’t going to happen any time soon. _Maybe taking a break to watch a play wasn’t the best use of their free time._ She thinks to herself as she recalls how badly the night has went so far. And that bit of her and Zuko liking each other? How on earth did they come up with such a ridiculous plot?! But still, she can’t understand why she isn’t so vehemently opposed by the idea of it like she should be. He is quite attractive, that much she could admit to herself. But so much has happened between the two - both good and bad - that it would be crazy to pursue anything besides a platonic relationship. She’s so deep in her thoughts that she doesn’t realize that Zuko is standing in front of her until she physically bumps into him, nearly losing her balance. Had it not been for Zuko’s arm wrapped around her waist, she would have fallen flat on her face. They’re both quick to stand up on their own. Katara blushes as she brushes off her red skirt and Zuko makes it a point to stare everywhere but in her direction. “Uh...thanks...”. The water bender says, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Considering how odd this night has been going, it’s no surprise to either of them that they both can’t sleep. But he chose to leave out the fact that he’s still contemplating Toph’s words. It was never this difficult to make conversation even when they were enemies. In fact, she found him the easiest person to talk to. But now things felt...different, if she’s putting it mildly. It’s so quiet that the crickets chirping echo in the night. “So, did you enjoy the play?” His voice is a pitch louder than his usual raspy tone and makes him mentally cringe. Fortunately for him, Katara is way too focused on the flurry of thoughts to even notice. She nods her head more out of courtesy than honesty. “I’m sorry if that...part...made you uncomfortable. They do tend to make things up most of the time.” He rubs the nape of his neck and hopes that bringing it up doesn’t make things even more awkward between them. There’s no need for elaboration about which part (although, a majority of the play was rather uncomfortable to watch). “It was so dumb!” Katara forces out a laugh. “So ridiculous!” Zuko scratches the top of his head. “Yeah definitely!” “Like that would ever happen!” Then the forced laughter and awkward shuffling come to a slow until they’re standing inches away from each other in another wave of silence. If Zuko had known just how equally of a mess her own thoughts were, he would probably find some kind of comfort in that. But instead he stands there like an idiot, debating on whether he should say something or wait for her to start a conversation. “Well, good night, Katara.” For a second, she looks disappointed in the fact that their talk is so short. He owes it to his imagination running wild. After all, it has been doing so the entire night. “Good night, Zuko.” He could hear Toph’s words in his head when Katara flashes him a smile before she leaves him alone with his own thoughts and the drumming in his chest. Slowly, but surely, he realizes that the earth bender is right. The heart never lies.


End file.
